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BANCROFT 
LIBRARY 

•o- 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


* 


*// 


IlsT 


2ST  E  V  A.  D  A.. 


PROMETHEAN  TUNNEL 


AND 


^tlw  f|tuuu(j  fettpttui), 


o 



141   BILO-A.D'WVA.Y,    IsT. 

Capital  Stock,  $5,000,000.     Shares,  $100 


TRUSTEES. 

General  WILLIAM  T.  THOMPSON,  New  York  City. 

Prof.  DAVID  CHRISTY,  New  York  City. 

DAVID  S.  MURRAY, 

THOMAS  J.  HARLAN, 

CHARLES  A.  ELMORE,  Baltimore,  Maryland. 

OFFICERS. 

D.  8.  MURRAY,  President. 

DAVID  CHRISTY  Treasurer. 

THOMAS  J.  HARLAN  Secretary. 

COUNSEL     FOR     THE     COMPANY. 
Ex.  Oov.  E.  LOUIS  LOWE. 


The  property  of  this  Company  consists  of  a  Tunnel  right,  com- 
mencing at  the  mouth  of  the  Canon  near  the  old  Site  of  Clifton, 
at  the  lowest  point  that  can  be  secured.  It  has  a  length  of  about 
one  mile  and  a  half,  cutting  in  its  course,  at  nearly  right  angles, 
every  vein  in  the  famous  Lander  Hill.  These  veins  will  be  cut 
at  depths  varying  from  150  to  1675  feet  below  the  surface,  and 
will  at  the  same  time  thoroughly  drain  every  mine  on  Lander  Hill. 
The  water  alone  secured  from  this  Tunnel  will  be  of  immense 
value  to  the  Company,  as  they  can  use  the  same  at  their  reduc- 
tion works,  which  are  designed  to  be  built  at  or  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Tunnel,  so  that  the  ore  can  be  delivered  .directly  into  the 
mills  from  the  mines,  without  an  additional  expense  of  hauling. 


•  "3 
-P-7 


2 

The  Ledges  owned  by  and  connected  with  this  Tunnel  proper- 
ty HIT  twenty-three  in  number,  as  follow.-: 

Alpha,  Empire,  Bars  and  Bullion, 

Cardinal,  Henrique,  ^.v^l, 

Upper  Grade,  Appenine,  Lord  Chesterfield, 

Sicilian,  Arondiquoit,  Pinola, 

Bohemian.  Old  Regime,  Conemaugh, 

•cry,  I.1,  ridge  water,  Chase,  and 

Valcour,  Emperor,  Prometheus. 

Hungarian,  Whitehall, 

The  Tunnel  includes  all  the  -  thousand  feet  on 

each  side  of  iis  central  line,  or  a   breadili.  in  nil.  of  two  tho> 
f»t\  and  as  m.-iv  tlian  run-  Itt/n'/m/  //Wyf.<  will  In-  cut.  the  amount. 
Of  Ores  Secured    must    be    enormous.      But    in    addition 

BS,  which    liave  an  outcrop   at  the  surface,  the  (\.nipaiiv  mav 
expect  t«»  inert  \\ith  many  moreof  what  are  called  "blind  ledges," 
which   do  not   appear  at  the  surface.      This  expectation   is 
on  the  1-n-t  stated,  that  fully  three-eighths  of  the  distance  from  the 
mouth  of    the  Tunnel    to  Mount  Proin<'tlieu>.  is  s<>  dei-j. 
by  debris  that    no   prospectiiiLT    has  ever  passed  down  through  it. 
•lie  Ix'd  rock  satisfactorily. 

It  may  be  remarked  here,  that  the  Companies  minii,L!  at  the 
purlace.  ai-e  anxious  for  the  owners  of  the  Tunnel  property  to  pro- 
ceed with  their  work,  as  it  will  I-  to  them, 
while  descend ii-Lr.  in  draining  their  miiu-  in  taking 
out  their  ores  afterwards,  if  they  should  ever  reach  the  level  of  the 

Tunnel,   and    conunen<  ndin«r   upon   their  ledncs   In-low  its 

flooring — a  privilege  for  which  they  could  well  all'ord  to  pay  a 
handsome  sum  to  the  Promethean  Tunnel  (1ompany.  and  which 
will  constitute  one  of  its  BOOTCeS  of  income. 

The  rock  of  Hill  i-  ilranite.  cut  by  multitudes  of  veins 

of  silver- bearing  Quartz,     Mr.  <'hasc.  a  mining 

tin.  Nevada,  in  do'-i'ibin^   the  condition    of  the  mining  int 
on  Lander   Hill,  near  the  be^inniiifi   of  the  pr-  >ays : 

that  tweiitv-oue  mines  only  have  been  mined  to  the  depth  of  one 
hundred  feet,  that  thirty-seven  have  reached  water,  and  only 
thirteen  have  steam-hoisting  works  erected  and  s\  -  min- 

ing commenced.    As  water  is  usually  met  with  at  a  depth  of  sixty  to 


one  hundred  feet,  requiring  the  erection  of  hoisting  works,  it  will 
be  inferred,  he  snys,  that  mining  on  Lander  Hill  is  vet  in  its  in- 
fancy ;  and  he  further  assures  us,  that  one  hundred  and  eight  ascer- 
tained ledges  lie  in  the  track  of  the  Tunnel,  and  that  the  whole 
number  which  it  will  probably  cut,  can  not  be  less  than  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty.  It  is  also  stated,  that,  of  the  mines  to  be  cut 
by  the  Promethean  Tunnel,  fifteen  are  already  proven  to  be  of 
great  value,  and  are  now  being  mined  profitably,  two  of  which, 
only,  having  attained  a  depth  of  three  hundred  feet,  while  their 
elevation  above  the  level  of  the  Tunnel  ranges  from  550  to  1,250 
feet.  But  few  of  these  mines,  therefore,  can  be  expected  to  pene- 
trate to  the  level  of  the  Tunnel,  until  long  after  it  shall  be  finished 
be}*ond  the  line  they  occupy. 

With  these  facts  before  us,  it  may  be  safely  calculated  that  the 
Promethean  Tunnel  Company  will  be  self-sustaining  and  divid- 
end-paving before  one  thousand  feet  is  excavated. 

A  more  particular  statement  will  render  this  plain.  The  Tun- 
nel, a-  meii  by  Mr.  Chase,  when  excavated  one  hundred 
and  twentv  feet,  will  reach  the  Alpha  ledge,  in  seventy  feet  far- 
ther the  Cardinal,  in  an  additional  fifty -five  feet  the  Appenine, 
(which  is  the  same  vein  a,s  the  Rod  Jacket,  from,  which  consider- 
able valuable  ore  has  been  taken  the  past  season)  and  in  thirty 
feet  more  the  Henrique.  The  Valcour,  another  valuable  mine, 
is  in  the  same  vein  as  the  Diamond,  and  is  eight  hundred  feet 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Tunnel.  Much  valuable  ore  has  been 
taken  from  ihismine  also,  and  worked  the  past  winter  at  the  Key- 
stone Mill.  The  Bridgewater  is  only  seventy-five  feet  from  the 
Valcour,  and  has  turnished  considerable  valuable  ore,  proving  it 
a  vein  of  excellent  promise.  The  remaining  ledges  in  Lander 
Hill,  occur  about,  in  the  same  order  with  those  enumerated— 
there  bein^  no  very  great  distance  U;tween  them. 

Of  the  twenty-three  ledges  belonging  to  the  Company,  sixteen 
lie  within  two  thousand  feet  of  the  mouth  of  the  Tunnel,  and  will 
be  the  first  intersected  by  it.  Mr.  C.  adds,  that  it  is  believed 
the  three  last  mentioned  veins  will  either  of  them  furnish  means 
sufficient  to  conipleh-  the  Tunnel,  after  they  or  either  of  them 
have  been  opened. 

That  this  picture  of  the  future  results  of  the  Tunnel  enterprise 
is  not  overdrawn,  will  be  apparent  when  the  richness  of  the  ores 


of  Lander  Hill  are  compared  with  the  product  of  the  ores  of  the 
Comstock  Ledge  and  other  mineral  districts.  For  this  purpose 
we  give  the  official  Reports  of  the  Assessor  of  Lander  County,  for 
the  last  eight  quartet's,  in  relation  to  the  productive  character  of 
the  mines  around  Austin.  Those  on  Lander  Hill  are  marked 
with  an  *.  The  average  yield,  it  will  be  seen,  is  very  much  greater 
per  ton,  than  that  of  the  ores  of  the  C  ige,  so  widely 

known  as  the  most  profitable  in  the  world.     The  official  returns 
in  detail,  of  the  product  of  the  latter,  for  Ib66,  are  given  as  Bl 
in  the  Report  of  J.  Ross  Browne,  the  Commissioner  appoint- 
collect  the  mining  statistics  of  the   Pacific   States.     The  tabular 
statement  em  it  twenty-two  of  the  most  prominent  of  the 

Companies  operating  on  the  Comstock  Ledge;  the  average  per 
ton  being  £.'-51.01,  while  the  average  per  ton  of  the  Mines  on  Lan- 
der Hill,  for  the  .piarter  ending  June,  1868,  was  $327.21. 

The  total  product  of  the  Coinstock   Ledge  for  1866,  was   $16, 
000,000.     Mr.    Brown.  ,<>t  give  the  details   for   1867,  but 

states  thf  te  production  at  §17,500,000. 


Assessors'  Returns  for  Lander  County. 
FOR  THE  QUARTER  ENDING  SEPTEMBER  30th,  1866, 


NAME  OF  MINE. 

No. 
TONS. 

No.  LBS. 

AVERAGE 
PER  TON. 

TOTAL. 

"•'•"(  *  ivat  Eastern 

412 

559 

$176  82 

^7°  SQQ  9ft 

*  Fort  ana  

33 

85  71 

2  828  43 

""North  Uiver,  

39 

536 

217  56 

8  543  15 

*Tr«>\-  

a 

1000 

83  82 

209  55 

*Diana 

17 

631 

180  40 

Q  1  OQ    70 

*Blue  JLedo-e 

o 

1968 

128  64 

385  92 

*Semanthe,  

2 

774 

276  97 

661  13 

*ldora  

16 

1287 

212  6^ 

3533  43 

*E.  Oregon 

1 

86  46 

86  46 

*Foster,  

26 

1000 

48  47 

1  284  45 

•-Magnolia  

4 

1171 

259  93 

1  191  86 

*\Vashino;ton,  

4 

187  45 

749  80 

*Morjran  A:  Muncev,  

17 

500 

107  95 

1  889  12 

*(  'a7iiar<r<> 

39 

90  77 

3  540  03 

*Timokc,  

28 

258 

167  92 

4723  00 

^Isabella,  

19 

500 

40  18 

773  46 

*Hardinjy  &  Dickman 

1 

1000 

87  19 

130  78 

*  Providential,  

7!) 

1000 

39  04 

3  103  68 

•'Savage  Consolidated 

160 

156  83 

25  092  80 

*Savaire  No.  2,  .  . 

•j::n 

74  06 

17.033  80 

FOR  THE  QUARTER  ENDING  DECEMBER  30th,  1866, 


NAME  OF  MINE. 

No. 

TONS. 

No.  LBS. 

AVERAGE 
PER  TON. 

TOTAL. 

*  Amsterdam,  .... 

j 

250 

$168  75 

$     189  84 

*Buel  North  Star,  

4 

1000 

336  57 

1  514  56 

*Camargo,  .... 

12 

1000 

116  57 

2  082  12 

*Diana,  

143 

1990 

91  18 

13  129  92 

*E.  Oregon,  

1 

111  53 

111  53 

*Empire  State,  

7 

600 

99  22 

724  31 

^Florida,  

13 

1990 

255  60 

3578  40 

*Fortuna,  .... 

1 

1520 

54  30 

95  57 

*Great  Eastern,  

287 

217  94 

62548  78 

*Idora  

22 

1695 

220  42 

5036  04 

*J.  R.  Murphy,  

1 

100 

251  18 

263  74 

*Magnolia,  

6 

1671 

238  25 

1  628  56 

*North  Star,  (Manhattan  Co)  
*North  River,  

69 
13 

288 
1924 

83  90 
56  03 

5,801  18 
782  20 

*Providential,  

64 

884 

54  91 

3  538  51 

*Remington,  

6 

1500 

49  63 

335  00 

*Savage  Consolidated,  

451 

103  25 

46  565  75 

*Semanthe,  

2 

150 

332  52 

*689  98 

*Timoke,  

79 

1138 

148  41 

11  808  84 

*Washincrton,  . 

12 

67 

479  52 

5.768  30 

FOR  THE  QUARTER  ENDING  MARCH  31st,  1867. 


\  \MK  OF    MINE. 

No. 

No.  LJM. 

PON. 

T<  >TAL. 

*Bla<-k  I/'djrr                          

."> 

:>oo 

$210  34 

$    1.104  2i» 

•Bu.-l  North                              0  
•B...-1  N..nh  Star  (2nd  <  tea 
*Diana  

81 
16 

1(51 

182  5U 

.->'. 

15,02 

*  Florida                .                    

10! 

:;:.; 

:i«  28 

! 

1" 

204 

•FlllliT                                                            .      ... 

•  ::i 

1  ::: 

'""(  i  ri'jit    Fa-<ttTn 

187 

»)8  12 

*Idora 

1 

*.M:iLrn<>liu.  
•North  Star  ;  Manhattan  <  <>  )       .    . 

l 
884 

48 

14! 

*St  raiiir»-r  

1 

:,.",  «>i 

*Si-inaiil  In-                                   

; 

i::-2  88 

•Savage  Consolidated  

MO 

18,263  30 

Timoke 

HID 

;  59 

.injrton  

1 

1681 

81* 

L.4S 

FOR  THE  QUARTER  ENDING  JUNE  30th,  1867. 


NAME  OP  MINE.                      T^ 

No.  LBB. 

ATERAOB 
PKB  TON. 

TOT  A  I 

*Black  Lrdjr,.  20 
*Bu««l  Nortli  Btal                                    I'j; 
•Diana 

956 
331 
936 

$104  09 

I*;:; 
1()3  60 

$  2,131  55 
20,808  09 

:;  SHI  (;s 

740 

101  88 

»;i5  7'.» 

*Full«T...  .                                              18 

711  67 

10.128  80 

*Fl..ri<hi.                                              .     1  ;:; 

266  10 

46086  53 

*Farr«-l                                             ...        5 

188 

266  70 

1  4  ! 

•Great  Eastern  

70  91 
120  26 

•North  Star  (Manhattan  <'«».>  507 
•North  Hiv.-r  19 

1551 

14!»  40 
211  39 

75,861  66 

4  ISO  55 

*OleandiT 

113  40 

•M»;  ^7 

*Orejf<>n  1 

UN 

253  89 

264  12 

•Semanthe  ...                                         '.» 

94  14 

s;->  -)| 

*St.   Louis,  •_' 
*Trov  38 

73 
H  (M 

•Timokf  96 

1460 

•JH  49 

•Washington  

1005 

447  69 

•Wall  \   Isabella  14 

IMO 

137  07 

FOR  THE  QUARTER  ENDING  SEPTEMBER  30th,  1867. 


NAME  OF  MINE. 

No. 
TONS. 

No.  LBS. 

ANERAGE 
PER  TON. 

TOTAL. 

*Buel  North  Star 

68 

1399 

$230  05 

$  15  804  32 

*Buol  North  Star  (B  W  )     .  .      . 

21 

1864 

157  56 

3  415  43 

*Diana,  

82 

310 

209  40 

17,203  89 

*Em]>ire  State  

18 

758 

120  34 

2211  73 

*Estll«T    

2 

440 

•  45  06 

100  03 

*Farrel,  

13 

170(3 

83  61 

1  160  90 

^Fuller        

17 

1  103 

225  19 

3959  07 

-Florida    

(i:i 

1002 

199  37 

12659  99 

•-iilora 

o 

485 

132  15 

824  95 

*North  Star,  (Manhattan  Co.)  
(1st  Class,)  

760 
9 

1048 
1232 

251  20 

284  59 

191,037  65 
2,7?  6  62 

*Magnolia 

35 

044 

191  96 

6814  50 

*N"orth  River      

11 

138  41 

138  41 

*Kaleseed  (Plvinoutli  Co) 

1 

1(558 

237  95 

416  42 

*Roanoke  .        

1 

324 

85  42 

99  26 

*(Jr»'ut  Eastern  (Shoshone  ) 

g 

128 

320  40 

2904  11 

*Savage,  

30 

1218 

182  39 

5,582  78 

"-Savannah,  

9 

745 

201  72 

1,890  62 

*Sani  Hrannan 

2 

892 

109  00 

239  36 

*Soutli  America      .        

10 

920 

196  68 

2065  14 

*Troy  

39 

1932 

173  29 

6,931  60 

*Tiraoke,  .  , 

5fl 

870 

292  31 

15,298  04 

FOR  THE  QUARTER  ENDING  DECEMBER  31st,  1867, 


NAME  OF  MINE. 

No. 

TONS. 

No.  LBS. 

AVERAGE 
PER  TON. 

TOTAL. 

*Biu-l  North  Star,  

87 

1380 

$197  65 

$  17,331  88 

"•'"I  )iana  

199 

1693 

192  27 

38,423  99 

'"F.ast  Oregon 

7 

615 

279  49 

2,042  37 

•Florida 

155 

406 

274  49 

42601  67 

•"Fortuna,  

4 

1688 

164  18 

795  29 

*Frank  Muncuv    

1 

1179 

237  86 

378  08 

•<  in  -at  Eastern 

60 

727 

313  14 

18,902  23 

*(M-IM  

2 

*)<;:» 

122  55 

286  09 

*  North  Star,  (Manhattan  Co.)  
(Chloride,)  
*Ma<rnolia  

721 
4 
94 

444 
660 
1679 

248  62 
79  69 
272  11 

179,310  21 
345  06 
25,806  78 

*  North  Iiivpr 

4 

271 

166  53 

711  24 

*Revenue,  

26 

313 

84  23 

2,203  16 

*Rork  (  'urry 

8 

1440 

141  02 

1,229  69 

'"Savage                                        

60 

1131 

190  20 

11,519  56 

47 

1411 

195  07 

9,305  90 

*Scnianthe  

3 

278 

115  83 

363  59 

*Sam  Hrannan        

2 

74 

128  56 

261  88 

*Thnokc     

332 

1447 

161  84 

53,842  97 

*Trov                       

53 

689 

327  91 

17,492  19 

*  Washington.  . 

10 

102 

138  28 

1,389  85 

FOR  THE  dUARTER  ENDING  MARCH  31st,  1863. 


NAME  OF  MINI!. 

TON-. 

No.  LBS. 

AVERAGE 
PER  TON. 

TOTAL 

*Buel  North  Star 

06 

$210  85 

$20'2?«l  is 

*Fi»rt  iina 

26 

i  in.; 

130  29 

*i  liiriliiif  \"   Dirkmnn 

i.; 

233  50 

3  1 

*lsal..-lla  

821  60 

*Magn<>lia  

MO 

243  19 

*N«.rth  Star  ..Manhattan   Co.)  
*FI«>ri.la     ...      . 

761 
810 

347 

l.Vi  36 
001 

117.. 

*Troy      . 

•H 

7583  87 

*Sam  Brannan  

i 

v,st 

l-.'-J  83 

:j 

ooo 

93 

s4'.»  -lo 

*South  America  

:;;^ 

100  45 

:;::s  40 

*Savaire 

17 

L684 

4356  66 

*<ir<-at    Kastrrn 

LOG 

L4U 

105  81 

11  is.t  :;:> 

*Tiiuoke  

79 

1199 

222  83 

•WaHllinirt,,,,  

8 

W7 

286  07 

Assessor's  Ketiirn  of  Bullion  for  the  Quarter, 
ENDING  JUNE  30th,  1868,  FOR  LANDER  COUNTY, 


NAME  OF  MINE. 

No. 

TONS. 

No.  LBS. 

AVERAGE 
PER  TON. 

TOTAL. 

2 

1704 

$287  11 

$     819  34 

\<>rrh  Star 

126 

1000 

425  12 

53  787  78 

"-  Hurki'Vf  

16 

218 

276  72 

4,257  68 

!>nint 

2 

1628 

153  19 

431  08 

rimer  S.  M.  Co  

7 
2 

90 
1104 

414  09 
198  54 

2,917  26 

506  62 

(  'i'ntc'iarv 

392 

98  S" 

38  717  44 

71 

IIM 

190  40 

13  628  66 



Kli/j1    Vndci'^'  >M 

'2 

1760 

79  01) 

229  22 

Fin-Thanh  South              

2 

1748 

271  °G 

643  97 

•  n             

1 

536 

283  20 

359  10 

a             

150 

1885 

370  00 

55884  72 

*F<  >i'i  uiiR 

11 

1206 

270  97 

3  135  94 

Mr  <  'o    

1 

866 

514  10 

597  47 

3 

1908 

332  91 

1  316  33 

. 
-  .  fn            

30 

307 

303  10 

9  139  53 

U  Tiva^-'irr 

73 

980 

172  14 

12  646  26 

1  1  uiichbsu'k 

11 

1888 

114  45 

1  725  31 

,  .He  (  '<  >                .          

11 

156 

190  07 

2  105  60 

1 

126 

153  20 

162  85 

"•('<>    (  White   Pine  )  

4 

675 

994  77 

4314  31 

*.Ma<niolia  

16 

906 

464  1)1 

7,649  16 

*North  Sfir 

575 

1  :;:}'.) 

144  09 

82948  22 

i  te 

5 

1846 

101  74 

599  60 

\f\v  Y^rk                

1 

1700 

78  12 

144  02 

--;  i],l  (  'olnliv 

4 

788 

135  04 

593  37 

Silver  (  'ham  In  T  

16 

36 

144  26 

2,304  16 

Silver  Kelt                   .      . 

4 

1058 

::  W  85 

1,570  50 

Santa  Fc 

2 

664 

88  62 

207  03 

St    1  oui-;   (<  'e.rte/  ) 

21 

1108 

501  48 

10  814  40 

;il<-y.)  
(  'rayrrot't,  (location,).  . 
BnumaD 

2 
1 
5 

1465 
944 

538 

455  28 
240  09 

175  .">:; 

1,592  48 
360  13 
931  45 

*South   .."'erica  

8 

574 

202  lil 

668  58 

3 

1768 

254  34 

992  02 

'••"Tinioke       .    .  .  . 

118 

1252 

269  74 

31,991  16 

92 

363  19 

27,413  48 



Vinevanl 

3 

1704 

251  77 

(.)(i(.)  30 

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30 

736 

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2,976  24 

Ya<|ui    

6 

962 

113  94 

740  61 

Vdlou  JarkH.. 

4 

116 

2(>9  02 

1,089  53 

GOLD, 


$383,891  81 


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11 

TUNNELLING  A  NECESSITY  IN  DEEP  MINING. 

The  history  of  silver  mining devel opes  two  things:  1.  That,  as 
a  general  rule,  silver  mining  from  the  surface,  to  a  limited  ex- 
tent, is  the  most  economical  and  profitable  mode  of  proceeding. 
2.  That  when  considerable  depths  are  attained,  the  expenses  aris- 
ing from  the  cost  of  raising  the  ores  and  keeping  the  mines  free 
from  water,  so  far  overbalance  the  profits  as  to  lead  to  the  aban- 
donment of  the  enterprise,  except  where  Tunnelling  can  be  re- 
sorted to  as  a.  means  of  draining  the  mines  and  running  out  the 
ores  at  a  lower  level. 

Mining  from  the  surface  is  carried  on  by  two  methods  :  First. 
The  veins  are  rarely  either  vertical  or  horizontal,  but  have  a  dip 
of  several  degrees  of  inclination.  To  work  directly  on  the  ores, 
following  the  vein  in  its  <li/>,  is  called  mining  on  the  incline.  In 
this  method  the  ores  can  be  brought  to  the  surface,  up  the  slope, 
by  menus  of  a  railway  track,  ti'coml.  When  the  conditions  do 
not  favor  the  first  method,  the  second,  by  shafting,  is  adopted.  In 
this  method  a  point  is  selected,  distant  from  the  outcrop  of  the 
vein,  but  in  the  direction  of  the  dip,  and  a  shaft  sunk  perpendi- 
cularly so  as  to  cut  the  vein  at  any  desired  depth.  The  ores  and 
prater  are  raised  to  the  surface  by  steam-power,  usually,  in  mod- 
ern times. 

Now,  experience  has  shown,  that  mines  in  valleys  or  broad 
table-lands,  which  can  be  worked  only  by  these  methods,  have  a 
limit  in  their  descent,  below  which  they  must  be  abandoned. 

Let  us  see  what  history  says  on  this  subject.  We  quote  from 
the  Report  of  ,1.  Ross  Browne,  the  Commissioner  appointed  to  in- 
vestigate tli'-  condition  of  the  mines  in  the  Pacific  States: 

"  Humboldt.  Ward,  St.  Clair  Duport,  and  other  writers,  convey 
an  instructive  lesson  to  persons  interested  in  mining  enterprises. 
These  authorities  agree  that  mining  from  the  surface  must  always 
prove  suicidal  to  the  interests  of  the  owners  when  the  position  of 
lines  will  allow  the  construction  of  adits  or  tunnels,  which 
will  drain  the  water,  ventilate  the  mines,  and  diminish  the  cost  of 
romovinir  the  ore  and  valueless  material." 

A  mong  the  examples  given,  is  that  of  the  Yalenciana  Mine.  It 
"was  lirsi  opened  by  Obregon,  a  young  Spaniard,  who,  without 


VI 

vein  which  nji  to 

that  time  had  been  unprodm-ti .  oing  many  ] 

from  which  ; 

.  from  the  1st  <>|'  .1  .       ,  the  llthof.June. 

IT'.M.ilie  sum  «>l  S14  ,  4,988  4ons  of  ore, 

[or  $109.51  |><  ..11  nt 

of  Va  •.  and  probably  in 

the  world  at  that  time.     A 
crease  of  >-\\ 
protit.  ami  before    the   breakii'!/ out   of  :'  e  revolution  in  181' 

lowed  to  lill  with  earth  :  ^2.r),  tliis  mine,  to- 

i-  with  man\  --11  into  the  hand.- 

eompanv.   wli"    •  i    twenty-one  months    in    draining   it   of 

water,  but  the  >f  mining   ami   pumping  were  so  great 

th;t!  -  tin-  l,,v.  •  e  again  abandon 

Hut  the  most   remark  ;'erience  m.p- 

anv  f-  'inpany    in     M  it  of  the    K: 

Real   I)c!  -d  to  lunmse  it  hcst  illus- 

trates the  point  we    \\  that    wh-  fully 

tested  and    proven   to  .  it    should  l>e   worked  l.y  Tun- 

nelling whem-  Me. 

The  Heal  l>el  Monte  Mine  had  heen  worked  formally  years. 
had  yielded  larue  amount-  1749.      A  ti; 

then  'commenced,  in  order  1<>  drain  tl  -  In    1759  the 

ninninjr  a  tunin  •••et-  in    1.  .tting 

the   \elli   I  •  lieali:   tl<  -W  an 

immen.-e  l>od  In  the  tw» 

yield.  .T  profit    oi   SC..(iOO,000.      T.ut   the   up]  • 

the  \e';n  1  eing  worked  out,  the  had  to  go  below  the  floor- 

•  f  the  tunnel,  and  the  \  d  alter  a  : 

1,200    horses    to  pump     it    out,    at    an    annual    expenditure  of 
$250,000.      "Alt-  'in--  lor  many  years,  ami  iepth 

of  324  feet  under  the  adit  had    I  .ecu  reached,  the  work  was  aban- 
doned and  allowed  to  lill  with   water.      It  was  in  this  state  when 
the  Knjilish   Heai  Del  Monie  < 'ompany  took  possession:   the-. 
pected,  by  substituting  powerful   steam  machinery  for  the  horse 
whims,  which  had  been  employed   by  the   M  .  to  mal 

mine-  a-ain  prolitable.      The  result,  however,  was  very  disastrous, 
for  in  the  twenty-thn  <  held  thcmim 


13 

were  $15,381,633  ;  while  the  total  yield  was  $10,481,475.  Show- 
ing a  loss  of  nearly  $5,000,000."  *  *  * 

"  Had  the  Company  prosecuted  a  projected  deeper  drain  -tun- 
nel, it  would  have  secured  the  continued  prosperity  of  the  mines 
for  many  years  to  come/'  The  mine  was  worked  by  horsepower 
324  feet  below  the  tunnel,  being  the  limit  to  which  the  mines 
could  be  worked  by  horse-power  drainage  The  English  Com- 
pany, by  the  powerful  aid  of  steam  machinery,  carried  down  the 
workings  to  720  feet  below  the  tunnel  ;  but  here  we  find  another 
limit  to  profitable  working,  as  the  deeper  excavations  of  the  mine 
are  again  abandoned  to  fill  with  water."  In  its  despair,  the  Com- 
pany entered  into  negotiations  for  the  sale  of  the  property  to  a 
Mexican  Company,  for  the  sum  of  $130,000  ;  its  three  powerful 
steam  engines,  being  capable,  only,  of  raising  the  accumulating 
water,  having  no  means  of  raising  the  ores.  The  Mexicans  are 
continuing  the  work. 

•  The  history  of  the  Keal  Del  Monte  mine  teaches  a  valuable 
lesson,  confirmed  by  the  result  of  almost  every  similar  enterprise 
in  Mexico.  They  show  that  after  a  certain  depth  lias  been  reached 
and  no  drain  tunnels  constructed,  the  mines  have  been  abandoned 
and  the  proprietors  ruined."  But  they  show  also  that  so  long  as  the 
ores  have  been  accessible,  these  same  mines  have  yielded  im- 
mense fortunes  to  the  owners. 

The  errors  of  the  English  probably  grew  out  of  the  expecta- 
tion, that  the  system  employed  in  coal  mining,  where  the  depth 
of  the  vein  is  usually  uniform,  could  be  applied  to  nearly  vertical 
silver  veins  which  have  a  continuous  descent,  soon  requiring  ad- 
ditional power  to  profitably  follow  them  and  hoist  the  ores  and 
water. 

"  If  we  turn  to  Europe,  however,  we  find  that  mining  is  carried 
on  with  intelligence,  economy,  and  with  a  view  to  permanency. 
In  England  but  few  mines  are  located  at  any  considerable  eleva- 
tion above  the  sea  level,  and  deep  drainage  by  tunnels  is  impos- 
sible. But  each  mine  has  its  adit,  however  small  its  depth  may 
be  beneath  the  surface,  and  in  stating  the  depth  of  shafts  in  Eng- 
land they  are  given  from  the  adit  downwards  ;  what  is  above  the 
adit  is  not  counted  at  all.  The  most  remarkable  work  of  this 
kind  in  Great  Britain  is  the  great  adit  in  Cornwall,  of  which  an 
English  writer  says : 


1  -I 

••  Tin-  ad  ii  at 

the  U  :  <          til,  where  an  adii 

c<niii!,  nich.  \v; 

i  (ranches,  i  of  Ihjni  thirty  to  i'«»rty   i 

mines  of  from  «>ne  i  i  hundred 

and  i  Diving   ii. 

«.!'  coal  ;  Q8  peralmnm. 

This  mi  L' 

11  in  'n-rnianv  iplete  system  of  drainage 

and  ventilation,  and    mines    p  ,  tin-   usual   cont; 

in  diviti. 

•ted  l>v  «-;i}»i;,  nent 

••  A 

niinino-  d  t  level  of  tin-  extraordinary   ICIIL: 

tw»']itv-fi>  11-   niilrs.    \vhidi    w»ndd   C  ••••in   at    ;  •!«>i)th 

j»lan   \v;, 

•iiiinriit    mining    enginet-rs,    and  1    the 

,»n   of  \.  '        : 

:.    1'ut  a  ow  being  dr 

which   \vil!   drain   tin-   inines   t'..ur;  I't^sent 

.atnral   drainage,  and   will    have  a  length    of  <• 
inil«-s.       I '  lin  the 

<         la  half  feet 
11  In    tli.'    II::iv   district    » 
depth.       The    inn  ;f   lias  a   depth 

been 

•uries.  the  largest  of  which   \  -leted 

T     I  T  '    Gittelde.   a   little 

town  at  the  l',,i)t  «.!'  the  Ilarx  mi  1  that 

;weir  would  1"  -oiiipletion,  l.iit  it  only 

>\cr  half  that  time,  for   ii 

twc!\  and    eh'\en    months.      Nine    shafts  i  Mink, 

from  which    <  ere  run.  and  one 

.nonth.  so  that   the  work    j.r«  pressed   from   nineteen  di 
poin:  with   sneh   ] 

:'tcr  the\ 

us   Tunnel    has  a    uniform   fall   of  ..ne   fo.>:    in    1 
hei.irht  is  ei^ht  le«-t    three  inches;  its  width   li\< 
and  its  shape  that  of  ]  th   to 


15 

allow  the  use  of  long  flat-boats,  for  the  transportation  of  ore.  A 
part  of  the  water-course  is  covered  over,  to  be  used  as  a  side- 
walk for  the  miners.'' 

Such   facts  as  these,  connected  with  Silver  Mining  in  Mexico 

and  Europe,  might  be  extensively  multiplied,  but  this  is  not  ne- 

•v,  as    the   conviction    has    already    reached    the  minds  of 

Americans  interested  in  the  subject,  that  Tunnelling  is  essential 

in  the  prosecution  of  deep  mining.     This  opinion  prevails  on  the 

ic  coast,  and   has  given  rise  to  the  effort  to  construct  the 

Sntro  Tunnel,  as  a  means  of  draining  the  Comstock  mines.     The 

Companies  working  on  this  Comstock  Ledge,  produced,  in  1867, 

SlT.oii'Hinn.  an  amount  more  than  equal  to  one-third  of  the  silver 

produced  throughout  the  world  in  1854. 

But  great  as  is  this  amount,  such  is  the  expense  of  working  the 
mines,  as  greater  depths  are  attained,  that  the  profits  of  the  stock- 
.11  far  short  o!'  what  they  would  be  were  the  cost  of  ma- 
ehiuerv,  and  of  hoisting  ores  and  water,  superseded  by  the  con- 
struction of  a  Tunnel.  Hence  the  strong  manner  in  which  the 
Sutro  Tuune!  is  urged  upon  the  attention  of  Congress,  as  a  work 
of  national  importance,  demanding  aid  from  the  general  govern- 

Tliis  Sutro  Tunnel,  to  be  available  in  draining  the  mines,  has 

about  four  and  a  half  miles  in  length,  and  starting  near  the 

f  the  i  .  the  Lowest  possible  point  of  drainage, 

it  will  be  l.Ji'2'J  feet  below  1  he  floor  of  some  of  the  most  prominent 

ihe  surface.      The   rate  at  whffh  a  tunnel  can  be  driven 

feet   per  day,  in   ordinary  cases,  and  the  cost  varies, 

aeeordiiig  to  eireu instances,  from  $5  to  $50  per  foot.* 

Tin-:  PUMMKTIIKAN  TTNXKI,  COMPANY  can  present  their  en- 
terprise, with  great  confidence  to  the  public,  as  its  condition  is  very 
different  from  anv  of  the  great  works  described.  The  Tunnel 
will  need  but  little  outlay  of  cash  to  excavate  it  to  the  mines, 
where,  in  all  probability,  it  will  become  self-sustaining:  the  first 
ledge  being  within  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  of  its  mouth, 
and  many  of  the  others  occurring  at  short  distances  from  each 
other  beyond  the  first.  The  task  of  mining  out  the  ores  over- 
head, in  these  ledges,  as  they  are  successively  reached,  will  be  an 

*  See  J.  Browne's  Report. 


16 

easy   one.  compared  with   the   present  mode  of  'descending  from 
above;  ;m<l  a£  ; tee  is  reached,  from  below,  as  mine 

worked  oat,  the  openings  made  will  5 
all  the  purpo-  iitiiatini:  shafts. 

additional  •  (tfi  must  be  stated  in  closing. 

Report    nt '  J.  owne,  for  1866,  says:  u  The  lodes  about 

Austin.  Lander  Count;..  <  -eeur  wholly  in   Granite,  both  walls  as 
well  as  the  eouutrv  roek   beiuLT  of  this  character.     Thev  are  for 
the  most  part    very   narn>\v.  varying   from  six  to  eighteen  u 
in  width  on  top.  and  expanding  to  two  or  three  fett  at  the  depth 
of  three  hundred    t'ert.   the   irreatest    vertiral    depth    to  whie; 

Owing  to  the  firmness  of  their 

walls  v»-ry    little    timl  •  '•  A    d  this  sta- 

tin- more  importai'  'inethean 

Tannel'caU  be  <t  the  lowest  possible  rates,  .- 

supports  beiliLl    recpli: 

The  i-ir  .ill    be    seen    in   the  Tables  c« - 

from  the  AaBessor'g  I!  id  as  they  far  exceed  in  \; 

of  tiie  ('  a  most  encouraging  fact  to  those 

who  m.-iv  cast  in  their   lot   witli  the   Promethean  Tunnel  Com- 
pany. 

The  <  Mlieers  and  Trustees  of  this  Company,  having  thoroughly 
investigated  then  this  Knterprise,  feel  the  greatest  confi- 

dence in  its  success  and  do  not  hesitate  to  recommend  it  to  their 
friends  and  the  public  generally. 

Panies  desiring  further  yi  formation  in  relation  to  this  Cornp 
will  please  call  on  or  address 

T.  .1.  HARLAN,  Secretary, 

Office,  141  Broadway,  New  York. 
October  1st  1868. 


